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Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried will take the floor Friday for the Rising Stars Challenge at the NBA All-Star Weekend.
The Rising Stars Challenge, consists of first- and second-year players. But instead of pitting the rookies against the sophomores, TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal served as team captains for the second year in a row and chose from a pool of players chosen by NBA assistant coaches.
Faried was Barkley's second selection (New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis was his first). O'Neal took Portland's Damian Lillard and Cleveland Cavaliers second-year point guard Kyrie Irving as his first two picks. Irving had 34 points in last year's game as a rookie.
Also teaming up with Faried are Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Knight and others. Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker are among those on O'Neal's team.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. MT on TNT.